Macduff woman inspired by beloved grandad’s memory to go extra mile for RNLI
The memory of her beloved grandad has inspired a woman to fundraise for a life-saving charity.
Lily-Mae Robertson, who lives in Macduff but originally hails from Buckie, is set to get her walking shoes on as part of the RNLI’s Mile a Day in May challenge.
She has been greatly inspired by her late grandad, Adam Robertson, who sadly passed away in 2020 just two days before his 70th birthday.
Adam, who was well known and loved in the local community, served for many years as one of the Deputy Launch Authority officials at Buckie RNLI lifeboat station.
Lily-Mae said: “Grandad’s memory is the main reason behind me doing this.
“I was extremely close to him and the Mile a Day in May challenge falls on the fifth anniversary of his passing, which is perfect timing to do something in his memory and for the RNLI.
“My granny Elaine is going to do a few miles with me when I’m over in Buckie. I’m not doing any special training for it, I’m just going to go for it.
“I’ve been to RNLI fundraisers and events with my mum, but this is the first one I’ve done myself.”
Lily-May’s family has close connections to the RNLI.
In addition to grandad Adam, her dad Alan was the coxswain of Buckie’s lifeboat William Blannin until taking up a role as a fleet staff coxswain.
Her brother Keiran is also a member of the Macduff crew, starting off his RNLI career at Buckie. Mum Caroline, meanwhile, along with granny Elaine were stalwarts of the Buckie station’s fundraising team.
The 19-year-old, who works as a dispenser at Banff pharmacy, added that she does not have a target in mind for her fundraising efforts, but the initial response to her donations page has proved very encouraging.
She added: “I originally had a target of £250 but I’ve already got around £380, which is great.”
To make a donation to Lily-Mae’s fundraising challenge for the RNLI, and for more information, visit https://fundraise.rnli.org/s/15816/16762
Prior to retirement, Adam had spent his working life with local government building control, finishing off as a manager.
His son Alan's decision to join the lifeboat crew at the age of 17 was to provide the spur to become involved himself in the RNLI, his own father, who ran a painter's business based in Baron Street in Buckie, having been part of the life-saving apparatus team who often worked closely with the seaborne lifesavers.
